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Collaboration & sharing Young people communicate and collaborate every few minutes - it's an obsession. They text, MSN, BBM, Myspace, Facebook, Facebook message, Facebook chat and Skype. Note the absence of email and Twitter. Then there's Spotify, Soundcloud, Flickr, YouTube and Bitorrent to share, tag, upload and download experiences, comments, photographs, video and media. They also collaborate closely in parties when playing games. Never have the young shared so much, so often in so many different ways. Then along comes someone who wants to teach them this so called 21st C skill, usually in a classroom, where all of this is banned. I'm always amused at this conceit, that we adults, especially in education, think we even have the skills we claim we want to teach. There is no area of human endeavour that is less collaborative than education. Teaching and lecturing are largely lone wolf activities in classrooms. Schools, colleges and Universities share little. Educational professionals are deeply suspicious of anything produced outside of their classroom or their institution. The culture of NIH (Not Invented Here) is endemic. 

Research by the Institute for the Future released in a report entitled "Future Work Skills 2020″ shows that preparing for a specific career area based on content is difficult and, instead, people should be developing certain broad skills. These same skills are important for our students to learn. The report explains each of the skills in detail, and also goes into the implications for education and policies. 

Are we bold? So, with a minimum of description, I'm thinking "bold" schools are: 1. Learning Centered - Everyone (adults, children) is a learner; learners have agency; emphasis on becoming a learner over becoming learned. 2. Questioning - Inquiry based; questions over answers 3. Authentic - School is real life; students and teachers do real work for real purposes. 4. Digital - Every learner (teacher and student) has a computer; technology is seamlessly integrated into the learning process; paperless 5. Connected - Learning is networked (as are learners) with the larger world; classrooms have "thin walls;" learning is anytime, anywhere, anyone. 6. Literate - Everyone meets the expectations of NCTE's "21st Century Literacies" 7. Transparent - Learning and experiences around learning are shared with global audiences 8. Innovative - Teachers and students "poke the box;" Risk-taking is encouraged. 9. Provocative - Leaders educate and advocate for change in local, state and national venues.

Actually I get the feeling this is been shared before oh well some good ideas as a template for us to work towards

ctivating Empathy is a global collaborative competition to find the best ideas, programs, and learning-models from around the world that: Encourage social and emotional development Unlock new ways of viewing problems, opening the door to a new world of potential solutions Address bullying or aggression in ways that advance understanding of others' perspectives Promote community diversity and a respect for differences Champion children as real-world problem solvers rather than simply bystanders Prepare to Enter or Nominate an individual, organization, or partnership with a solution online starting now.

We've spoken of education for so long as though it is representative of an objective academic truth that we've missed the fact that for the majority of human history it was a matter of survival. A matter of love. A matter of inspiration and compulsion. As often a matter of the irrational as the rational.... there may not be any objectively "best" practices, only your communities' own best findings in any practice. 

Dale J. Stephens brings a unique perspective on the future of education, talent, and innovation.  He is a sought-after education expert appearing on major news networks including CNN, ABC, NPR, CBS, Fox, and TechCrunch.  His work has been covered by the New York Times and New York Magazine to Fast Company and Forbes. At 20, Dale leads UnCollege, the social movement empowering students to create their own education.  In May 2011 Dale was selected out of hundreds of individuals around the world as a Thiel Fellow.  The Thiel Fellowship recognizes the top entrepreneurs around the world under the age of twenty. His first book, Hacking Your Education, will be published by Penguin in early 2013.